Stack It Up
Coil building lets you create vessels that are taller than your hands could ever pinch. It's one of humanity's oldest ceramic techniques, and it gives you incredible control over shape.
What Is a Coil?
A coil is a rope of clay that you roll out by hand. You stack these ropes on top of each other and blend them together to build up walls.
Making the Base
Start by making a flat pinch pot or a thick slab as your base. It should be about as wide as you want the finished pot to be at the bottom.
- Thickness: around half an inch (1.2 cm).
- Shape: can be round, oval, or even square.
- Smooth the edges so the first coil has a good surface to attach to.
Rolling Coils
Place a lump of clay on the table. Using both hands flat on the clay, roll it back and forth with light, even pressure. Move your hands outward from the center as the coil lengthens.
- Keep the pressure even: heavy pressure in the middle makes a "dumbbell" shape.
- Aim for an even thickness throughout, roughly the diameter of a pencil.
- All your coils should be the same thickness for consistent walls.
Attaching the First Coil
Lay the coil along the inner edge of your base in a circle. Score (scratch) the surface of the base where the coil will sit, add a dab of slip (liquid clay), then press the coil down firmly.
Coil Quality Standard
A production-quality coil should be:
- Even thickness from end to end.
- Smooth surface with no deep cracks.
- Soft enough to bend without tearing.
- Similar in moisture to the base it joins.
Consistent coils make consistent walls.
Go Deeper
Coil building is one of the oldest ceramic techniques, with evidence dating back to the Neolithic period across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Many monumental ancient vessels, including large amphora-style storage jars, were built entirely with coils long before the potter's wheel existed.
